Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine made a surprise visit to Puerto Rico on Sept. 8, as the United States bolsters its military buildup in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels.
The visit came as the Pentagon deployed 10 F-35 stealth fighters to a Puerto Rico airbase and warships to conduct operations against drug cartels in the region.
Hegseth told sailors and Marines on the USS Iwo Jima warship off Puerto Rico that they were not deployed to the Caribbean for training but instead sent to the “front lines” of a critical counter-narcotics mission.
“Make no mistake about it, what you’re doing right now is not training. This is the real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interest of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people,” he said in a video posted online.
Before speaking with the sailors and Marines on board the USS Iwo Jima, Hegseth and Caine had visited Puerto Rico, where the Department of War said they met with troops stationed on the island.
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez greeted Hegseth and Caine upon their arrival on the island, while expressing her support for the Trump administration’s goal to secure U.S. borders.
“We thank @POTUS Trump and his Administration for recognizing the strategic value Puerto Rico has to the national security of the United States and the fight against drug cartels in our hemisphere, perpetuated by narco-dictator Nicolas Maduro,” Gonzalez stated on X.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, prepares to depart the 156th Wing, during the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s troop engagement at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Carolina, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 8, 2025. (Senior Airman Gisselle Toro Caraballo/U.S. Air National Guard)President Donald Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking, allegations that both Maduro and Venezuela’s government have rejected.
The U.S. military struck a boat from Venezuela on Sept. 2 that Trump said was bound for the United States with illegal narcotics. At least 11 suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang were killed in the strike.
Two days later, the Pentagon said it detected two Venezuelan military aircraft near a U.S. Navy vessel in the Caribbean Sea, calling the action a “highly provocative move.” The department warned “the cartel running Venezuela” not to pursue any further effort to obstruct U.S. counter–narco-terror operations in the region.
In a Sept. 3 interview on “Fox & Friends,” Hegseth said the boat was operated by members of the Tren de Aragua gang—designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization—who were “trying to poison our country with illicit drugs.”
Hegseth warned that further strikes could occur against narco-terrorists attempting to smuggle drugs into the United States.
“This is a deadly, serious mission for us, and it won’t stop with just this strike,” he said. “Anyone else trafficking in those waters, who we know is a designated narco-terrorist, will face the same fate, and it is important to protect our homeland and hemisphere.”
The Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense, was renamed after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 5, framing the change as a restoration of the original name established by President George Washington in 1789.
Trump stated in his order that the name reflects the department’s “ability and willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our nation at a moment’s notice, not just to defend.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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